Majority Caucus Whip State Sen. Mattie Hunter made this statement regarding the passage of concealed carry legislation:

“My approval of this legislation is not without reservations. This plan that still leaves much to be desired in the way of addressing public safety and the current violence epidemic. But I realize the importance of making sure we have a statute in place to protect our citizens and communities before the June 9th deadline given to us by the Federal Appeals Court. Although I would like to see a proposal that more carefully and thoroughly considered the current gun violence crisis devastating Chicago and the communities I represent, the reality is we must have something established by the June 9th deadline to avoid the instatement of constitutional carry.”

Majority Caucus Whip State Sen. Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago) explains her no vote on Senate Bill 1:

“I am proud of my fellow General Assembly members in making the tough but right decision to reject SB 1. We must and can fix our pension issues, but not in a way that breeches the constitution, harms our dedicated state workers.”

SB 1 failed with a vote of 16 to 42.

In an attempt to gather a comprehensive collection of racial data, police statewide would be required to identify, as accurately as possible, the ethnicity of all arrested under legislation sponsored by State Sen. Mattie Hunter  now on its way to the governor’s desk.

“Previous to 2010, state police identified 99 percent of those arrested as either ‘Black’ or “White,’ leaving all other populations unaccounted for and ignored,” Hunter stated after her legislation passed the General Assembly. “With this measure, we will achieve greater documentation and understanding of the individuals being arrested in Illinois, for what particular crimes and be able to identify specific trends in arrests and incarceration.”

State Sen. Mattie Hunter, a constant champion for good health in the General Assembly, helped Illinois take strides toward improved public health when she passed out of the Senate four initiatives promoting awareness and education of important health issues such as asthma, breast cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

“These are all important health issues we must pay attention to and get serious about combating with increased understanding," Hunter said. "Education and greater awareness of these problems to better and save lives is our goal.”